GP & J Baker | Baker's Indienne Embroidery

Baker's Indienne Embroidery takes its name and its character from Indienne, the painted and printed floral cottons that reached Europe from India in the eighteenth century, reworked here as a stitched pattern on a linen-viscose ground. It is a documentary design in spirit, translating a historic floral idiom into embroidery rather than print, and the 78 by 64 centimetre repeat gives the florals room to sit properly across a width of curtain, in a way that a smaller-scale embroidery could not manage.

Composition is 61 per cent linen, 21 per cent viscose and 18 per cent polyester. It is 128 centimetres wide, with a 78 centimetre vertical and 64 centimetre horizontal repeat, and GP & J Baker specify it for curtains. Two colourways: Indigo/Red, a classic two-colour combination on a natural ground, and Soft Blue, a gentler single-tone reading.

We use it for curtains in a sitting room or dining room, where the historic floral character and generous repeat can be read properly, and Indigo/Red in particular suits a room with old textiles or furniture already in it. It also makes a striking bedspread, and a single width used as a fire screen panel or a folding screen shows the embroidery off almost like a piece of art. Pair with a plain linen in red or indigo. Sold by the half metre; order a sample to see it in your own light.

Allow a full 78 centimetre repeat per drop and match carefully across widths; the two-colour Indigo/Red shows any drift at a seam more than a tonal cloth would. Line and interline curtains to support the stitch. Press from the reverse over a soft cloth. It is not rated for upholstery, so we would keep it to windows, beds and the occasional cushion rather than a chair seat.

• Composition: 61% linen, 21% viscose, 18% polyester
• Width: 128 cm (50 in)
• Pattern repeat: 78 cm vertical, 64 cm horizontal
• Suitable for: Curtains
• Care: Dry clean only; do not wash, bleach or iron.
• Collection: Keswick Embroideries, GP & J Baker
• Colourways: 2 (Indigo/Red, Soft Blue)